Ultimate Ninja Storm
by Pressing Point
Summary: At school she was the shy and petite Hyuuga heiress. On her Kinect Xbox 360, she was Solice- the #1 player of the world famous game, Ultimate Ninja Storm. Solice is two words: completely badass. She's Hinata's alter ego. Welcome, to her world. NaruHinaSasu.
1. Prologue I

Summary: At school she was the shy, petite Hyuuga heiress. On her Kinect Xbox 360 she was Solice- the #1 player of the worldwide famous game, Ultimate Ninja Storm. Solice was two words: completely badass. She's Hinata's alter ego. How will the #2 and #3 players react when they find out neither of them is number one? Simple. Their mission is to find this Solice and take that chick down. But they seem to forget one thing... This is her turf. Welcome... to her world. NaruHinaSasu

* * *

><p><strong>Ultimate Ninja Storm<strong>

**Prologue I**

_Being Hyuuga Hinata sucked. It sucked stinky, raw eggs. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for my life. I appreciate everything done for me and I never take anything for granted. Even though my family has like a bajillion dollars, I'm not any of the three s's. I'm not snooty, snobby or stuck-up. I'm not any of the three s's I'd like to be either. I'm not strong, stunning or self-confident. Instead, I'm the three s's that will always get you labeled as "the nice girl". I'm simple, shy and sweet._

Hinata lightly chewed on the end of her pencil as she re-checked her test paper. Her PEMDAS was accurate as usual, her functions were flawless, her variables were in the correct places, her calculations were undeniably correct thanks to Cal, her calculator buddy, and her writing was a neat combination of cursive and script. Ah, she could just see the large 100 circled in red already.

She glanced at her lavender-strapped watch and sighed. _11:30_. There were still 30 minutes left to finish the 45 minute exam.

Lazily, she diverted her eyes to the open window on her left. The sky was bright and blue, heavily accented by puffs of white clouds. The treetop of the 15 foot high cherry plum tree could be seen. Birds and small animals hopped about the tree from branch to branch, singing and chattering. She faintly smiled at the picturesque scene.

Gazing out the windows became a habit for her ever since she arrived at Konoha High School for Elites. The activity was not only calming, but also the perfect distraction, especially during exams. She always finished early. Not because she just scribbled numbers and letters onto a page, but because she was smart. She didn't spend countless hours studying to gain nothing in return. Thanks to her over-studying, she found Calculus to be as easy as pi - not dessert _pie_ but pi as in 3.14159265.

So why didn't she simply walk up to the teacher's desk and hand in her golden paper? She was shy… and a paranoid worrywart.

Imagine the amount of eyes that would be on her if she got up! Everyone would think, _"Ugh! She's such a showoff!" _and _"She should just keep her rich ass in her seat". _She could never let herself anger people so much that they would start saying crude things about her!

That wasn't even the worst part. She could see it perfectly. She'd rise from her seat and quietly walk down the steps. She'd move slowly and carefully as to not trip and make a fool of herself; but then she'd catch _his _sapphire blue eyes and trip clumsily down the steps, therefore, having made a fool of herself. The class would then erupt in laughter, Miss Yuhi would empathize with her, bend down to place her fallen test papers on her desk, and threaten the class with detention and only then would the class shut up. Hinata would be left on the floor, red in the face, and too embarrassed to get up. Then she would pass out from her building anxiety and the class would erupt again.

She was absolutely_ not _going to go through that.

Ok, maybe the class wouldn'tbe _that _mean and maybe she was just being a paranoid worrywart, but that wasn't going to change her mind. She was Hinata Hyuuga- shy, reclusive and _nice_.

The word "nice" was poison to her poor ears. She abhorred that word with her spirit, soul and body. If she could burn it, she would set it ablaze a billion times. It was such a disgusting adjective!

"Nice" is used to describe someone you don't really give a fuck about or someone you don't know how to describe. "Nice" was taboo to her ears. She wouldn't beat the shit out of you if youcalled her "nice". What bothered her was that she would probably smile, blush a little and hide her face while she _imagined_ beating the shit out of you.

Her mind was the only place where she controlled her life. In her mind she was an extrovert, coordinated and the apple of everyone's eyes. In real life she was the exact opposite; she was an introvert, her life was a mess and on the attention list, she was but a mere teetering speck of dust. She was easily forgotten and ignored. It was only when called upon in class or when being asked a question that people suddenly remembered that she existed but then that attention would slowly fade away.

She _did _want attention but she could never handle it properly. She always got flustered and stuttered horrendously. She made herself look like a complete buffoon whenever she received attention. That's why her crush thought she was a complete weirdo.

Her cheeks tinted a rosy pink when she thought about her crush. He was perfect. He had bright sunny hair and sun kissed skin. His eyes- oh his eyes- were such a deep sapphire blue! She could get lost in those delicate orbs forever and ever and never complain. On both sides of his cheeks were three whisker-like scars. How he got them was a mystery to her but she thought they made him all the more _endearing_. Ah, he had the beauty of a Greek god! But, that wasn't why she was attracted to him. If she was drawn to looks only she'd probably be Uchiha Sasuke's fangirl too. She was attracted to her crush's personality.

He was loud, boisterous, sincere, compassionate, sympathetic, outgoing and so much more. He was perfection. Luckily, she didn't have much competition since none of the girls in their age group were his fangirls. They were Sasuke's instead.

She'd admit it, Sasuke was good looking. His skin was pale, a sharp contrast to his raven hair which had an odd duck-butt end shape to it. Jaw-length bangs framed his face. His eyes were a very deep black, like a never ending cold abyss. She definitely wouldn't want to get lost in those. And he never grinned like Naruto would. Instead, he normally kept a frown plastered on his face and rarely, a smirk. The '_Uchiha smirk_' was what his fangirls lived for. Sasuke was an introvert. He wasn't shy and blush-proned like she was. He kept to himself but he was still bold and held an air of certainty around him.

But sooner or later, she assumed that his fangirls would grow tired of admiring and lusting after him. They'd want to go after someone they could actually have a chance with and that would be the second best thing, Uzumaki Naruto. That time was definitely going to come.

She could just try to win Naruto's favor now but no! Her stupid shyness always got the best of her when she tried doing anything about her dumb crush. When the grave time came, Haruno Sakura would jump into Naruto's arms and he would gladly welcome her. Why? Because he liked her. Sakura was head over heels for Sasuke. When she realized her better choice, she'd jump to Naruto.

Hinata sighed. She couldn't compete with Sakura. Sakura was out of her league. Sakura was one of the school princesses. She was kind, sweet, smart, extremely stunning, confident and strong mentally and physically. She was what almost every guy wanted; none of them could have her because she only had eyes for Uchiha Sasuke and he was completely dormant to her feelings.

If she was to win Naruto, she'd have to act now. But she was Hinata and Hinata was the shy weird girl to him. But at least he said he liked people like her! She was on cloud nine for several years after he had told her that but she knew getting Naruto could never happen if she remained shy.

* * *

><p><em>Like I said, I don't hate my life. I guess I'm just not a fan of my personality. I just want to be noticed and not end up in a blushing coma. Is that too much to ask? I just want to be able to express my inner self. Maybe people would notice me then.<em>

Lunch was the usual. Hinata sat courteously on the grass with her legs neatly tucked under her bottom, holding a large silver box in her lap. Her friends sat around her in a circle under the shade of the large cherry plum tree, watching the box with stars in their eyes.

"Aw, Hinata!" Kiba whined. "Open the box! Open the box! Open the box! Open the box!" he chanted.

Hinata giggled and blushed. "I'm opening it! I'm opening it!"

She cradled the silver lock on the box with her fingers and shot a knowing glance at her gleaming spectators. As routine, they all squeezed their eyes shut while Hinata took out her key. Blushing, she took the key out of her bra- a girl's safest placed to hide things- and unlocked it. She placed it back into her safe haven and whispered, "You can o-open your eyes now."

Their eyes eagerly flew open to watch the unlocked bag hungrily. Hinata slowly opened the box, having fun teasing her friends.

As soon as the bag opened, a delicious aroma graced the air.

_3, 2, 1… _Hinata grabbed the box away just in time before her friends pounced on the empty area, hitting each other in the head.

Hinata laughed as they pulled back, rubbing their heads and blushing in embarrassment. "I a-always tell you guys not to do that or you'll ruin-," she took out a steamy cinnamon bun, glistening in its juicy glory, "the cinnamon buns." Hinata placed the bun in Kiba's watery mouth and he squealed in delight.

Hinata handed one out to each of the remaining 6 people. Tenten, Choji and Lee all made similar squeals of delight as they sank their teeth into the juicy bun. Shino, Neji and Shikamaru nodded in thanks as they bit into theirs.

"Ah! These taste so good, Hina!" Tenten squealed, rolling her head about Neji's lap. Her brown eyes found Hinata's lavender ones. "How do you make these?" she asked with her mouth full of cinnamon bun.

Hinata smiled and blushed, "I-It's my mother's s-secret."

"I have to ask her when I go over there today. I _need _the recipe!"

"Don't waste your time," Neji said. "My mother may be a sweet lady but she'll attack you if you try to get her recipe. Only Hyuuga girls get the recipe," he grumbled.

Hinata laughed nervously as she remembered the time her mother beat the shit out of her brother when he tried to learn her recipe. "I-it's true."

Tenten's face paled. "I guess having these every Friday isn't that bad then…"

The group nodded in agreement.

"YOSH! My youth has been replenished!" Lee yelled as soon as he devoured his cinnamon bun. He pumped his fist in the air. "May I have another youthful bundl-!" Tenten's fist landed on Lee's head- hard.

"Stop yelling!"

Hinata smiled warily as Lee cooed his hurt head. She handed him another cinnamon bun and instantly he forgot all about his injury and quietly yelled, "Yosh! My youthful cinnamon bun! Thank you Hinata!"

Tenten sighed.

Hinata gave Choji another cinnamon bun when she caught him trying to steal Shikamaru's and Neji's.

Hinata smiled. Being with her friends always made her feel happy. She was still shy enough to stutter here and there around them but it was better than passing out. They truly cared for her well-being.

She watched her friends with amusement. Choji was still trying to cajole Shikamaru into giving him his cinnamon bun despite the Akimichi already having one in his hand; Neji and Tenten were having a quiet debate and by Neji's face she could tell that Tenten was winning; Lee and Kiba were talking about her cinnamon buns and Shino was beside her, eying her through his dark spectacles.

"Y-Yes Shino?"

"Will you not have a cinnamon bun?" he asked quietly.

"A-Ah, sure!" She took out one of her own buns and nibbled on it happily. They _did _taste good.

"Hey, have you guys heard of this new game?" Kiba asked as he dug around for another cinnamon bun.

Everyone stopped their previous actions to focus on Kiba.

The dog-loving brunet grinned. "It's called Ultimate Ninja Storm! The promo for it just came out this morning! They say that the game's so good, it'll be successful enough to be sold worldwide."

"What's it about?" Lee asked curiously.

"It's about being a ninja. They have all this cool stuff called kunais and jutsus and kekke genkais. It's totally awesome! And you actually play since it's for the Kinect! You can fight off bad guys and protect your village or you can have allegiance to yourself and whatnot!"

"That seems cool," Tenten murmured. "Too bad it's not out yet."

"Yeah," Kiba solemnly agreed. "But they _are_ having this contest thing. The game isn't fully developed so they're having people test it out! You can sign up at the video game store and they might pick you!"

"No way!" Tenten yelled excitedly, instantly sitting upright. "We're going to sign up then, right guys?"

Everyone nodded except Hinata. "I have to get home early today. My dad said he had something for me this morning."

"Ah, ok." Tenten said, a little sad.

Kiba then continued to blabber about the new game.

* * *

><p><em>I needed a way to express myself, a way to be the girl I wanted to be…. I found that way when I entered the world of video gaming.<em>

Hinata raised an eyebrow at her father. "You want me to play a video game?"

Hiashi smiled at his daughter when he brought out a blank cd. "This is just the prototype for it. The Hyuuga, Uchiha and Namikaze Corps all came together to develop this game. It's the first time we've ever worked together on a project and we know it's going to be a huge hit. To test it out, we're having our kids play it and some other teens to see how you respond to it."

Hinata blushed at the thought of Naruto and Sasuke playing this game too. "W-What's the game called?"

"Ultimate Ninja Storm."


	2. Prologue II

**Ultimate Ninja Storm**

**Prologue II**

* * *

><p><em>It's been two weeks since my father gave me the game. I haven't played it yet, though. I really don't know why. Maybe it's because I've been bombarded with homework and tests to study for… Ok, I'm lying. That has never been a bother for me. I do my school work as soon as I get it and I pay keen attention in class so I remember everything that has been taught. But lately, I haven't been paying much attention in class because… I keep thinking about the game…<em>

_My father hasn't pestered me about my lack of physical enthusiasm towards the game. He had given Neji and Hanabi a prototype as well so my input was not critically needed. I don't know why I haven't played the game yet. I, of all people, have a lot of free time on my hands. My friends also won the free trial contest. They're probably playing away in the virtual world right now. They've been gushing over it every single day at lunch, boasting about how much they've accomplished. _

_Lee had asked me if I played the game and I said no. I said I didn't have enough time to play. I didn't know why I said that. It was the partial truth but… I just don't know._

* * *

><p>In the Hyuuga mansion, the most life changing battle in history was currently taking place. It was Hinata Hyuuga vs… a prototype CD for a game…<p>

Hinata glared at the disc for the umpteenth time. The disc was a menace, an obstacle in her _stable _and _precise _life. She wasn't supposed to be daydreaming about playing the game in class, she wasn't supposed to have her teachers ask her to stay behind about her spacing out, and she wasn't supposed to have her classmates look at her with shock when she was asked to stay behind. There was an uncalled for turbulence in her strict one-way flight. And the disc was the cause of this turbulence.

Hinata remained resting on her stomach on the pure white carpet with her elbows stretched and her chin lightly pressing on her laced fingers. The disc resided an arm's length away from her, beside a box her father gave her as a second piece to the game.

The disc was a tough opponent. Her glare wasn't burning the plastic like she had imagined it would. Instead the object glared back at her with much more force than anticipated.

"_Play with me_," it taunted. "_You know you want to. You **need **me."_

The disc was trying to persuade her into meeting its demands. And it was working. She wanted to play the game. She wanted to play it so bad. But she couldn't and wouldn't. She was too shy to play the game. What would people think of her if she played a game like that? The blood and gore, the merciless killing…

She knew she was over-exaggerating by a mile but she couldn't help it. Kiba had called her the day he got it just to tell her how he beat the shit out of some pedo named Sakon and he raved about how cool it was for two hours. His description was very- graphic.

_"Please play me, Hina-chan_," the disc lulled. Its voice sounded like a cute little five year old girl rather than the haughty teenage voice it used last time.

Hinata chewed on the sleeve of her loose fitting plain t-shirt and attempted to burn the disc with her eyes again.

**_"You look really stupid, you know."_**

Hinata instantly became alert at the sound of another voice. She glanced around her room for any sign of her younger sister but found none. "Hello?" she asked aloud.

**_"In here…"_**

_"What's going on?" _Hinata thought to herself. "_Is Hanabi playing some sort of trick on me"_

**_"You're a fucking dumbass, you know that? I'm in your head."_**

_"What? I'm talking to myself?"_

**_"Precisely. You're a nut"_**

_"I-I'm not a nut-."_

**_"Yes you are. You're talking to a voice inside your head."_**

_"Y-you started talking to me! Who are you?"_

**_"I just happen to be you, but you can call me Solice."_**

_"Solice… How can you be me? You're nothing like me! You're rude and mean and-!"_

**_"Oooo, impressive first grade vocabulary you have there!"_**

_"S-See?!"_

**_"Would you stop the stutter? It's annoying. It's pathetic to stutter to yourself, even for a loser like you."_**

"Hinata frowned at the insult. _Why are you insulting me if I'm you?"_

**_"There, now isn't that better without the stutter?"_**

_"Shut up."_

**_"Feisty now, aren't ya? We just need to develop on that and maybe you won't be a total loser anymore."_**

Hinata frowned and decided to ignore herself, as strange as that sounded. She went back to glaring at the disc. Maybe, if she was lucky, the disc would start talking to her again instead of-.

**_"You can't ignore me, you know?"_**

No such luck.

_"What do you want, Solice?"_

**_"I want you to take that stick that's shoved 20 miles up your ass the fuck out."_**

Hinata gasped at the indecent language.

**_"Oh grow some balls and go play that game!"_**

Hinata blushed in embarrassment and looked at the disc before her. Her flustered look faded to hatred. "_No fucking way."_

**_"Oh, ho,ho! Someone just used their first potty word!"_**

_"S-Shut up!"_

**_"And we're back to the stuttering phase… Anyways, pick up that disc and shove it in the Xbox. It's play time and I'm bored."_**

_"No."_

**_"Why not?"_**

_"That game is interfering with my life."_

**_"What life?"_**

_"Fuck you."_

**_"No, fuck you milady."_**

_"I'm not playing."_

**_"You see, this is why you'll always be unsatisfied with yourself. You never try to change anything. You just accept it and bitch about it in your diary without even trying."_**

_"You don't know anything about me!"_

**_"I am you… the badass version that is. Just try the game, you know you want to."_**

_"No."_

**_"I bet Naruto plays this game. He'd notice you if you-."_**

The name of her blond crush was all it took for Hinata to grab the CD and madly dash to her Kinect Xbox 360. The black and glossy device was brand new. Hinata wasn't totally unfamiliar with the contraption though. She was the one who configured Kiba's for him since he was absolutely clueless. She pushed the silver circle and it glowed green. Green was good. She pressed a button located south and frantically placed the disc in its compartment.

**_"Someone's excited…"_**

Hinata chose to ignore Solice's chuckling and the heated blush that crept to her cheeks. She ran over to her neat table, fidgeted around for her TV remote and when it was finally stable in her hands, she clicked the big red button and watched as the TV turned on to showcase the 'Update Required' screen. She sighed then speedily hooked up her white controller to the Xbox.

After going through screens and screens of setting up the damned Kinect and registering an account, she finally got the game to start.

The TV screen was black and Hinata found herself bobbing up and down in anticipation.

**_"Turn off your lights, quickly."_**

_"Huh? Why?"_

**_"Just do it."_**

Hinata did as Solice ordered and turned off the lights. The room was pitch black, only being lit by the faint light of the TV screen. She always forgot how dark Konoha got by 6:30.

Light footsteps could be heard approaching Hinata's room. From the shadow the light under the door provided, Hinata could tell the person paused before knocking quietly on her door. "Hinata? Dinner's ready. Are you sleeping?"

**_"Don't say a word."_**

Hinata remained quiet and fidgeted with the fabric of her baggy basketball shorts. She instantly recognized the voice as her mothers. She didn't know why she was listening to Solice. She wanted to say something but she didn't let herself do it.

"Ah, you must've had a long day at school. Sweet dreams honey."

She waited until her mother's footsteps receded before she let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

_"Why did you make me do that?"_

**_"I didn't make you do anything, my sweet honeybunches of oats. You're just being a smart girl by listening to me. Now, grab your headphones with the long cord and hook them up to the TV quickly."_**

Again, Hinata followed Solice's orders rather quickly. She placed her lavender headphones over her head, careful not to tangle her long dark hair and hooked the long cord up to the TV. The screen was still black but it had some sort kunai at the bottom of the screen lying on a bunch of puffy white clouds with the word 'loading…' being spelt out over and over again on top of it.

The screen faded and for a while Hinata thought the thing ran dead until a brand new screen appeared on the TV. Hinata nearly screamed when she heard an extremely loud and deep voice boom in her ear. She grabbed the remote and turned the volume down.

Who the hell put her TV volume on 60? Immediately, her prank-happy sister came to mind. When the volume was at a safe 6, she registered what the voice said and read the screen as a man narrated.

"When there is love, hatred is born," the man said. "The balance… between good and evil… is never equal. One… will prevail."

A series of epic pictures and video clips of the game dashed through the screen at lightning speed. The flashes of white and the amazing sound effects only made it better. Hinata found herself walking closer and closer towards the screen. The graphic quality was perfect. It was so… hypnotizing. Ninjas were kicking, punching, throwing kunais, yelling some strange words, using some cool colored stuff…

"The question is: Which…"- more pictures-, "Will…" -more pictures-, "You…" -more pictures-, "Choose?" The final word came to sudden halt as the camera eased out on the white words.

The home screen appeared accompanied by some happy-go-lucky Japanese music. The background color was blue and at the top, outlined in black and filled with bold orange were the words 'Ultimate Ninja Storm'. Under the title was an icon that said 'Get started'.

**_"Totally epic, huh?"_**

Hinata could tell that her inner voice was smirking- if inner voices could even smirk, that is. Hinata gaped at the screen like a fish. It was such an… an… an _enticing _opening! The tingly feeling in her skin, the rapid pacing of her heart, the longing feeling that opening left her- she loved it! She wanted more.

Suddenly a transparent grey box appeared on the screen saying, 'Image not detected. Please stand before Kinect'. Hinata jogged back a safe length away so the motion sensor could pick her up. She stretched her legs and arms to ensure she had enough space. She raised her hand and a white mouse appeared on the screen. She moved the hand towards the 'Get started' icon. A circle appeared in the left hand corner of the screen, slowly filling with green.

The screen shifted to one that had the title 'Step one' at the top. 'Create an Account' it told her. Hinata grabbed her controller and filled in were necessary.

E-mail: hyusunshine(atyahoo)

Password: *******  
>(must be 6+ characters long)<p>

Age: 16

Birthday: December 27th

**_"Your email is stupid."_**

Hinata rolled her eyes. Instead of using her hand, she used her good old fashioned controller and hit 'x'. The screen shifted to the 'Step 2' slide. 'Design your character' It instructed.

Hinata blushed a bit by the naked bodies (even though they didn't reveal anything) then chose the 16 year old female body. She customized her character to have long dark hair like hers, clear eyes and pale skin. She pressed 'x' and it shifted to the outfit screen. Hinata frowned at the several revealing clothes the screen displayed. She scrolled through the list of clothing and found something more modest- a bulky jacket and long pants.

**_"What the fuck do you think you're making that chick wear?"_**

_"Something modest."_

**_"No you're not. Think carefully Hinata. This is a virtual game. You can be whoever you want to be here. Don't you want to be the sexy one for once?"_**

Hinata contemplated Solice's offer and instantly shook it out of her mind. "_It's just a game…"_

**_"Yeah… a game no one knows you're playing. It'll be your little secret, your virtual fantasy."_**

_"I-I guess you're right."_

**_"Of course I'm right. Now choose that one."_**

Hinata scrolled up to the bodysuit Solice had in mind. It was pure black and looked skin tight. Hinata gulped and clicked on the item.

Hinata was right. It was _skin tight. _It hugged her character's body, displaying her luscious curves. Her character placed a hand on her hip and leaned to the side with attitude.

**_"Now, doesn't that look better?"_**

_"Y-Yes, it does."_

Hinata hit the 'x' button and it went to a screen titled 'Final Step'. 'Name your character' it ordered. Her character stood beside the text box with her hand on her hip. The girl was edgy. Hinata decided she liked it.

**_"So what are you going to name her?"_**

"_I was thinking… since you're like my alter-ego or something and this character is going to be the opposite of the Hinata people think I am, I'm going to name her…"_

She filled in the name of her character.

**_"Couldn't have made a better choice myself."_**

Hinata hit the 'x' button again and a transparent grey box popped up. 'Would you like to save your settings?' it asked. She chose yes and another box popped up. 'Are you sure?' She chose yes again.

The screen faded to black and the loading screen came up. This time the wait only lasted for five seconds before it displayed the menu screen with her character standing beside the various categories to choose from. Underneath her character, it read, 'Welcome, _Solice_'.

* * *

><p><em>That night was the first time I played the game and I loved it. The thrill of living a double life felt like a rush. I've grown to be hooked on that feeling. I made it all the way up to a level 10 genin in only 6 hours but I couldn't stop there. <em>

_I continued the game, sleep slipping further and further away from me. I fought available computer generated opponents and rarely came into contact with any online players since there were only 100 copies of this game in existence so far. However, whenever I did encounter someone, I whooped their asses so hard and it felt good. _

_I felt pride swelling up in me. It felt good. It was something the Hinata I was at school would never approve of. It would make that Hinata hang her head down in shame. But it felt like I was becoming a brand new person. This Hinata- no, I'm not 'this Hinata'. There is but one Hinata. Hinata is the simple, shy, and sweet girl. I'm Solice on this Kinect Xbox 360. I'm strong, stunning and self-confident and it feels so fucking good!_

_I spent the entire night playing the game. At 4am, the sleep I kept willing away finally got the upper hand. I collapsed to the floor with the game on. I reached level 23 by then. My father was the one that came to my room and rested me under the covers when he found me on the floor. _

_He saved my progress with a proud smile on his lips. He knew it was a matter of time before I fell under the spell of the game. He was astounded when he saw my level and that made him swell with pride and shock. Sasuke and Naruto were on level 50 right now but they had the game for 2 weeks. His daughter made it to level 23 in one night. His daughter was going to be a prodigy._

_And a prodigy, I did become indeed. I never knew that my father caught me playing the game and I'm glad he didn't tell me. That meant I could still see it as my secret. When a full month had passed and more prototypes had been given out, I whipped through the new players easily. I was one of the Ultimate Ninja Storm pros. The ranking for players comes out soon and I'm dead set on coming first._

_I soon forgot about ever trying to get Naruto to notice me. I realized I wasn't doing it for him but for me. This game was exactly what I needed. My inner voice was right. I could be the me I wanted to be in this game. I never told any of my friends or family members about my secret. I didn't even tell my best friend, Kiba, and we tell each other everything. I just liked the idea of my secret more than 'our' secret. The secret was flawless. _

_Now tell me, who would believe that the shy and innocent Hinata Hyuuga could possibly be one of the deadliest ninja assassins in Ultimate Ninja Storm? The answer is no one. I was safe. No one would ever suspect me. I could keep my squeaky clean image and still have my kickass side. I couldn't have someone ruin that._

_Ha, ha. I really love to be able to fool everyone. Hinata could never lie to anyone because she knew she'd get caught but Solice was different. Who would believe that Hinata and Solice were the same people? This was the joke of the century. Oh, thank you Ultimate Ninja Storm._


	3. Dinner For Gamers

**_Ultimate Ninja Storm_**

_"They remember me as this shy girl sitting under the table. But they obviously didn't know what was going on in my head."_

~Izabella Scorupco

**Chapter 3: Dinner For Gamers**

The grand room stunk of perspiration. Expensive furniture had been recklessly pushed aside to create space for the two boys.

The blond bent backwards into a bridge in order to dodge the incoming shuriken. "Ha! Missed me, Sasuke-teme!"

The raven-haired boy sent a glare in his rival/best-friend's direction then returned his gaze to the TV screen. "Sharingan!"

Sasuke's character activated his bloodline limit and the camera zoomed in. Dark eyes faded into a bloody ruby.

"Shit."

Sasuke smirked as he watched himself catch Naruto's character in a genjutsu- some sort of visual attack. The previous forest clearing the two had been sparring in morphed into a world of red. Naruto was pinned to a wooden post and Sasuke stood before him with an endless amount of swords surrounding him. Naruto tried to wiggle himself out of the binds but he couldn't move. With every struggle, the binds grew tighter and his life points dropped.

"Your eyes… do _not _compare to mine," Sasuke's character uttered darkly. The crimson-eyed man unsheathed his katana and plunged it into the stomach of Naruto's character, forcing the blond to cough up blood. Naruto's LP (life points) dwindled drastically into the green bar. Sasuke picked up another katana and wedged it into Naruto's shoulder causing the blond's LP to fall even lower.

"Temeeeee,"Naruto whined. "You're cheating. No sharingan allowed."

Sasuke replied with plunging another katana into Naruto's opposite shoulder. "You're just upset because you'll have to do the dishes when I kill you-"

Abruptly, two clear eyes appeared in the ruby background. The red world faded.

Suddenly, everything on the screen burnt, including Sasuke and Naruto. Both of their LPs went to 0 and the screen faded to black.

"Hey! What's happening?" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "I don't fucking know."

The form of a teenage girl appeared in the middle of the black screen. She was dressed in a body-hugging black body suit and a black mask that covered everything but her eyes. She had two swords sheathed behind her back and two sharp knives in the belt fastened around her waist.

She rested her hand on her hip and scoffed, "You losers didn't even put up a fight." 'Solice is the Winner' appeared at the bottom of the screen in orange, easing in and out.

"KO!" A Japanese voice from the screen exclaimed.

Naruto and Sasuke glued their wide eyes to the screen with their mouths agape.

"D-Did we…" Naruto trailed.

"Just lose?…" Sasuke continued.

"And to a-a-a…"

Both boys were interrupted by a pair of hands rummaging through their hair. Instantaneously, the boys whipped their heads around to see Sasuke's older brother who was five years the younger Uchiha's senior.

Itachi chuckled heartily at the glares the two sent him. "Why all the glaring-?" Before Naruto and Sasuke could block Itachi's view of the TV, the handsome Uchiha eyed the screen and smirked. "You lost to a girl."

Sasuke batted his brother's hand away and sat on the floor, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. "We didn't lose to a girl," Sasuke declared.

Naruto turned away from Itachi as well and sat beside Sasuke. Despite Naruto being a naturally jovial person, he was also a sore loser along with his best friend, except Sasuke was always a grouchy meanie.

"It's probably some pedo guy dressed as a hot girl." Naruto decided.

"Sounds like something your uncle would do," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto stroked his chin. "Or it could be Pedo- I mean Professor Orochimaru."

All three occupants of the living room shuddered.

"Besides," Naruto continued. "The guy caught us off guard."

"You mean he caught _you_ off guard," Sasuke emphasized. "You just brought me down with you, dobe."

Naruto whacked Sasuke in the head. "You teme-shit! You're the one who caused it all in the first place!"

Very soon, the two boys engaged in a very messy, profanity yelling battle of hits and smacks.

Itachi grimaced as he observed the screen. "The both of you are idiots," Itachi said in his listen-to-me-now-or-I'll-make-your-lives-hell voice. Sasuke and Naruto turned to Itachi, both with their arms crossed and lips deep into grimaces. "Don't take this person lightly. Perverted guy or not, Solice's name should not be casually dismissed."

"And why exactly should we care for his name?" Sasuke asked, irritated.

"Because," Itachi frowned, causing the long pronounced tear troughs under his eyes to deepen. "Rumors say Solice is the strongest player in Ultimate Ninja Storm. I've never encountered _her _in a battle before but if I did I would certainly have some trouble on my hands."

"What?" Naruto asked, surprised. "_He's that_ good?" Itachi was a pro at Ultimate Ninja Storm. Neither he nor Sasuke (much to the teme's aggravation) ever came close to defeating him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grounded his teeth together, "The _guy's _probably just a poser. Do you even know who _he_ is?"

Itachi shrugged and ignored the boys' sexist misgendering. "No one knows Solice's true identity. No one knows anything about _her _either. The only thing we know is that Solice isn't a player to be messed with. The company knows nothing about her. It's like she found some way to block all possible access to her information. Solice is like some sort of devious, secret weapon. She's a mystery."

"Tch. Doesn't matter," Sasuke said, dismissing his brother's warning. "The _guy's_ a fucking coward. I'll kick his ass next time we meet."

"Language, Sasuke. Language. You're not a street hooligan. You don't even know Solice's identity. _She_ could really be a girl."

"Ha!" Naruto laughed, "But girls _suck_ at video games!"

Sasuke nodded. "For once, I agree with the dobe."

"Imagine if your beloved Sakura-chan heard you say that," Itachi taunted, moving black strands of hair away from his eyes.

Naruto's face paled.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm going to look for Solice."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "I get to face the guy first!"

The two teenagers fought their way to reach the game when an annoyed Itachi groped them tightly by the ears. "What the hell, Itachi!" the two exclaimed.

Itachi held onto their ears even tighter. "Have you incompetents forgotten that we're having a corporate family dinner tonight? Mother wants you to go and change back into your suits. The Hyuugas are-."

The doorbell rang.

"Quickly! Go and change!" Itachi ordered, using 'the voice'.

Naruto and Sasuke shot up the steps long before Itachi's order. The last time they met Hiashi Hyuuga, the old man had humiliated them and their mothers nearly killed them for embarrassing their family names.

Itachi adjusted his red tie and strolled over to the large glass door. He was going to kill Naruto and Sasuke for the mess they had made of the living room.

* * *

><p>Hinata nearly somersaulted with joy. She had beaten <em>the <em>Sasuke Uchiha _and_ Naruto! And it felt good! Solice was the one that recommended the battle for her to loosen her nerves. She was a frantic mess when her mother had told her that the entire family would be visiting the Uchiha Residence for a corporate meeting because that meant Naruto and Sasuke would be there as well.

Beating them really did help calm her down.

**_"Don't you just wanna see the looks on their faces when we kicked their asses!"_**

_"Yes!"_

Despite her moment of extreme bliss, Hinata kept her cool and calm Hyuuga demeanor- an appearance Solice had been training her to adopt over the months. Her family would be scared if she was cartwheeling and jumping all over the place yelling 'I beat Naruto and Sasuke! I fucking won! Yosh!' It would be like seeing Lee wear a speedo at the Konoha Swimming Competition… again…

Her entire family stood at the doorstep of the Uchiha's mansion, waiting for the large door to be opened. The valet already took their car so they couldn't go back home even though it was right across the street. Hyuugas of such prestige, namely her father, Neji and Hanabi, would never walk home. They only drove and were driven.

In the family, it seemed like Hinata took after her mother the most. They both had long, dark hair -except Hinata's was more of a midnight blue shade and Hitomi's favored eggplant-, soft, kind eyes, pale porcelain skin and a soft personality- excluding the fact that Hitomi could be a scary, loud beast when she felt like it. Neji and Hanabi were exact replicas of Hiashi. The three shared the same long, brown hair that reached their waists, neither of the three smiled often and they often kept to themselves, looking cool as always. The one trait her siblings had adopted from their mother was their light hearted personalities.

Hyuugas were all about tradition and having 'that' look, all of which Hinata found extremely silly. That's why she would absolutely break down into a fit of giggles if one complimented their matching outfits. Whenever they went to a place of importance –which is where they only went- or somewhere in public, they always matched. They even had holiday cards with matching outfits! Of course, they never smile during those photos. It's Hyuuga tradition.

Tonight, they all wore white with matching bow ties. It was hysterically stupid but because they were _Hyuugas_, the world saw them as trend-setters.

**_"The world is full of dumb_**_ **shits."**_

_"That was rude, but I agree."_

Hinata pulled up the bodice of her dress. It didn't really show much of her cleavage. It showed but a teensy shadow of her large but not ridiculously large bosom. It made her uncomfortable, _very _uncomfortable. She was already insecure enough about her body.

**_"Here we go again…"_**

_"But my body is so unevenly proportioned! I'm ugl-!"_

**_"Just. Shut. Up."_**

Hinata nearly began to hyperventilate at the thought of a very brooding Uchiha and very not-afraid-to-speak-his-mind Naruto looking at _her_ in something like _this_.

**_"Ugh! Shut up! You look hot!"_**

_"W-What? No I don't! I look like a stripper in training! You know, like you! I shouldn't have let you convince me into wearing this!"_

**_"I'm just going to purposefully ignore the stripper in training comment, not that I'd mind being one anyway. And for the final time! I. Am. You! You wanted to wear the dress. I just pushed you in the right direction!"_**

_"But N-Naruto-kun a-and Sasuke-kun w-will see me i-in this! I-I'll die! I'm not ready for th-!"_

The door suddenly opened to reveal an Uchiha older than the one she had been dreading. Hinata nearly gouged her eyes out at her terrible luck. The man was tall and dressed in a dapper black tux, a wrinkle-free black undershirt and a red bowtie. He had dark eyes, black hair that hung near his cheeks to frame his face and kept the rest of it in a ponytail. Hinata instantly recognized him as Itachi. He was Sasuke's older brother and he was always kind to her when she came over for birthday parties or other events.

"Good evening," Itachi greeted with his voice soft and husky. His face wore a charming smile. "It's a pleasure to have you here, please come in."

The Hyuuga family exchanged greetings with the Uchiha heir and entered the home.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Hinata-chan," said Itachi, politely observing the shy Hyuuga. "You look beautiful, as always."

Hinata blushed and smiled. "Th-thank you. I-It's good to see you again, Itachi-san."

**_"I always liked Itachi. Not really a fan of his duckbutt brother though."_**

Hinata restrained herself from laughing.

Glad that Itachi turned his focus to her father, Hinata quickly skipped to be in between Neji and Hanabi who were both surveying the trashed living room.

"What happened here?" Hiashi asked, getting ready to show his distaste.

Itachi smiled and calmly answered, "Sasuke and Naruto were playing Ultimate Ninja Storm. It's very addicting."

Instead of frowning, Hiashi smiled. "That's good."

"Shall we go to the dining room?"

Itachi smoothly took the lead and walked them towards the dining room. He whispered something to one of the servants and continued on his way.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before they reached the dining room. There, the Uzumaki and Uchiha parents sat, chatting and laughing.<p>

It also wasn't long before the Hyuuga presence was noticed. The wives exchanged warm embraces and giggles, while the husbands nodded in acknowledgement except for Naruto's dad who openly hugged Hiashi and gave him a good ol' smack on the Hyuuga's fanny. The Hyuuga siblings had to clutch onto each other for support in order to keep from laughing at the flustered glares their father threw at Minato.

Shortly after the… interesting… greeting, everyone in the room had been seated around the considerable amount of food.

Hinata had almost completely forgotten her previous worry until she saw that her name was written on the seat right in-between Naruto's and Sasuke's.

**_"Activate the Hyuuga cool, now!"_**

As ordered, Hinata forced herself to relax and quietly took her seat, feeling her ponytail swish behind her. She observed the table and noticed that no one had picked up on her discomfort.

Kushina and Minato, Naruto's parents, were busy telling a business tale in which Kushina interrupted every minute to say that Minato got a part wrong and told her version which Minato then stated as wrong which resulted in the fiery redhead giving the blond a few you're-making-me-look-bad glares which then resulted in Minato acknowledging that his wife was right. Hinata couldn't argue with the man though. Kushina was obviously going through her monthly hormonal stage. Her mother acted the same way except there was always more physical abuse.

From looking at the Uzumaki parents, she could tell where Naruto got his looks from. Minato was-

**_"The definition of a freaking Greek god?"_**

Hinata nearly blushed. Minato was _very _handsome. His golden, shaggy hair was obviously passed down to Naruto. Naruto's eye shape was taken from his gorgeous mother's but his sapphire blue orbs were not hers- as hers were a chocolate brown- but bequeathed from his father. His grin was fairly a combination of the both of his parent's grins.

Sasuke on the other hand, much to Solice's amusement, took after his mother, Mikoto. Not a single physical trait came from his father, Fugaku. Sasuke only inherited his father's pompous personality except with a bucket more of asshole. It explained why his fangirls called him 'beautiful' which must've been a blow to his guy ego.

"Where are the boys?" Hitomi asked Mikoto and Kushina.

Mikoto and Kushina both felt ticks rising at their foreheads. "Hopefully, they'll be here soon," Kushina answered.

Luckily, the two boys quickly rushed into the room, immediately slowing down when Hiashi's stern eyes met theirs.

"Good evening," the two politely said in unison. "We apologize for being tardy."

Hiashi softened his glare a teensy weensy bit.

Hinata nearly peed her dress at the sight before her. They were in tuxes that mirrored Itachi's with the exception of Naruto's blue bowtie.

Hinata's gaze shifted to the talking mothers and nearly sighed. Karma was a bitch, a big, fat one.

Hinata felt them take their seats on either side of her. She nearly shuddered.

**_"Don't blush or stutter and you'll survive this."_**

_"H-Hai."_

She looked at her brother and sister. They were engaging in a conversation and Neji was upset which meant Hanabi was teasing Neji about having girl hair, again.

She managed to relax the first 5 seconds until she felt her crush tap her on the shoulder.

She turned to him and gave him a light smile.

**_"DON'T STUTTER."_**

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto seemed taken aback that she didn't stutter. He soon grinned and gladly asserted, "You look hot tonight, Hinata!"

Hinata remained frozen as her brain went:

Processing…

Processing…

Recalculating…

Processing…

Error…

Uzumaki system overload…

Your brain will explode in 5, 4, 3, 2-

**_"COMPLIMENT HIM BACK! DO IT NOW! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE! NOW, NOW, NOW!"_**

"Th-Thank you, Naruto-kun. You look dashing, I might add." She added a light smile. Hinata did a mental happy dance.

_"Only one stutter! Yosh!"_

**_"Don't go all Lee on me. Now compliment Sasuke to not make it awkward."_**

"You too, Sasuke-kun," Hinata smiled, surprised once again at the lack of stuttering.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"Ignore the teme," Naruto grinned. Sasuke shot him a glare. "I haven't really seen you at school. Have you been sick?"

**_"BWAHAHAHAHA! I love this guy!"_**

_"Sh-Shut-up!"_

"No, actually… I sit beside you in chemistry… We're lab partners, remember?"

Hinata could've sworn she heard Sasuke let out a mute laugh.

"Ohhhhh," Naruto grinned. "I probably didn't notice because you're always so quiet!"

"Or because you're an idiot," Sasuke added.

**_"I'm starting to like him too!"_**

Naruto frowned and Hinata blushed.

Hinata disbanded her gaze away from Naruto and pretended like she was interested in her siblings' conversation.

"Hey, teme!" Naruto called, oblivious to the awkward moment he caused for Hinata. "Don't you want to know who this Solice guy is?"

Hinata's ears perked up at this.

"I told you, dobe, it's some cheating pedophile."

**_"Such big egos, damn." _**

Itachi plunged himself into the conversation. "Or it could very much be a girl," he inputted smartly.

**_"Itachi is perfect."_**

"I told you, Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed. "Girls suck at video games!"

**_"Say what! Lemme at him! Let's kick his ass, Hinata! Let's do it now!"_**

"I disagree," Itachi stated. "I'm sure Hinata could take you on."

Hinata stiffened when she felt Naruto's gaze on her. "You play Ultimate Ninja Storm?"

"A-Ah… uh…"

"Children!" Minato exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "We have some very exciting news for you all! Tomorrow, we will be having a banquet for Ultimate Ninja Storm! All players of the prototype game will be gathered and the top 30 players will be chosen as the elites of the actual game when it is released! They will all receive a ranking position. That way we can see who's number 1! Do you like the idea?"

Everyone nodded.

"That's great!" Kushina stated, "We'll have all players come to the banquet and we'll place their game names on the seat they get to sit at!"

"That way we can find out who this Solice is. I'm sure she'll be a part of the top ten," Fugaku murmured.

Hinata's heart stopped beating, Naruto's eyes widened with joy, Sasuke smirked with triumph, Itachi's eyes were filled with intrigue, Neji and Hanabi argued about whose hair was better and Hiashi wore a devious smirk.

**_"Aw, shit. We're in trouble."_**


	4. The Introduction

**Ultimate Ninja Storm**

"_Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised._"

~Denis Waitley quote

**Chapter 4: The Introduction**

When life gives you lemons, you throw them back and demand cookies. When life tells you that your secret could possibly be exposed and you have absolutely no idea how to stop it from happening, you send fate one good kick up the old fanny and make it your bitch. But Hinata was Hinata and Hinata was a bi-polar worrywart.

The remainder of the dinner had been… interesting. Hinata had been in a daze the remainder of the evening, Sasuke was in his plotting phase, letting out some really creepy accidental smirks every 10 minutes, Naruto was grinning from ear to ear like a constipated fox, Itachi was smiling and being the good child by actually paying attention to what the other adults said and Neji and Hanabi engaged in a heated argument over who would get ranked higher.

To tip off Hinata's sense of sanity, the parents added two rules to the banquet. 1. All gamers who had received a prototype must be present in order to receive a ranking and, 2. If the gamer doesn't show up, their files will be erased and they'll have to get the new version some other time and start over from scratch.

Despite all the bad news at the dinner, it wasn't the worst part. The worst part was coming to school this morning seeing blimps, posters and billboard signs all advertising the banquet that would be held... _today_.

* * *

><p>It was the last session of the day, with 10 minutes remaining until class was dismissed. Hinata had Professional Communication right now, but as usual, Kakashi hadn't shown up yet. He'd be here one minute after the bell rang to stop the class from leaving and give them homework so they'd remember that he was in charge here, not them.<p>

The girl slumped over and sighed, ignoring Tenten and Kiba's banter about the game. She didn't really want to hear just how awesome the game was when she was going to have to say goodbye to it in a few minutes. The banquet was to be held in half an hour. All Ultimate Ninja Storm gamers had to be present or their profiles would be lost forever. That meant Solice was at stake.

Solice was a mystery to the Gamemakers; no one knew who she was or where she came from, except Hinata. Solice was Hinata's alter-ego, her secret, and Solice was going to stay a secret, profile erased or not.

**_"Are you really sure about that?"_**

Hinata rolled her eyes and ignored the voice in her head. She'd realized it wasn't exactly _healthy _to have a split personality or have conversations with it.

**_"Ugh. You're such a priss! Don't you realize that deleting our profile is going to delete me too! You need me"!_**

_"And I need my friends to trust me! How do you think they're going to take it when I show up at the banquet in place for us when I've been distinctly telling them I. DON'T. PLAY. ULTIMATE NINJA STORM? They all hate liars…"_

**_"But you've been lying ever since you've gotten that CD. You can't go back now."_**

_Of course I can. Our profile will be deleted, I'll never play Ultimate Ninja Storm again, you'll go away and I'll go back to living a **regular **life."_

**_"That's what you want?"_**

_"Yes!"_

**_"Fine. Goodbye then."_**

_"Wait…No… I'm…"_

_"Solice?"_

Hinata sighed. Great. She just had a fight with herself. Awesome.

"I bet I'm gonna be in the top 10!" Tenten boasted. "I'm smart, fast, my ninja's pretty hot-"

Kiba scoffed. "I'm gonna be in the top _5_! I mean, have you _seen _me play? I've got mad skills! Right, Hinata?"

The fiery tension raging between Kiba and Tenten made Hinata smile warily. They'd never change. "Um, I don't really know, Kiba. Both you and Tenten are really good at the ninja stuff…"

The two brunets huffed and sighed.

"Doesn't matter anyways," Tenten complained. "I've heard about this Solice chick." Hinata stiffened at the mention of her alter-ego. "Apparently, she's supposed to be extremely good. She'll probably be ranked number 1 at the banquet."

"Nah," said Kiba. "I don't believe it when people talk about her. S'just a bunch of publicity propaganda and bullshit. I bet she's just some sort of virtual obstacle the Gamemakers created. You know how in every game there's always some kind of unbeatable character? She's just that."

"You're just saying that because you know she could kick your ass, mutt!" Tenten accused.

Kiba rolled his eyes and lazily said, "They made Solice a girl. Everyone knows girls aren't _that_ good at video game-" Kiba chilled when he felt the mass amount of negative energy coming from his left. He just mentioned a taboo topic. He looked to Tenten and waved his hands around frantically, trying to apologize. "You know I didn't mean that Ten! Girls are just as good as gu-!"

Hinata tuned herself out of the conversation and scooted over to the right of her seat. She didn't want to have Kiba's dead remains all over her uniform. As the loud smacking took place, Hinata looked to the clock. 1 minute until the bell.

She eyed the room and found Naruto's grinning face. He was laughing with his friends, probably just as excited about the banquet as her friends were.

_"What would you do, Naruto-kun?"_

As if hearing her thoughts, Naruto's eyes met hers. He sent her a warm smile and wave of the hand then went back to his friends. Her heart raced and she blushed softly. She knew exactly what he would do. He'd choose his friends over a game any day.

The bell rang and as always the students began leaving. Hinata took her time to leave her desk, just waiting for the silver-haired teacher to show up. And he did, right before Naruto could reach the door.

"Who told you all you could leave?" Kakashi asked through his navy blue mask.

"You're late again, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up for a second, will you Naruto?" Kakashi sighed. He lazily looked to the class. "Your assignment will be to come up with 10 survey-worthy topics and at least 5 questions for each. That's all. You're dismissed."

The class groaned and shuffled out of the classroom, passing by Kakashi.

As Hinata headed for the doors along with everyone else, she thought back to her strange teacher. He wore a mask because he liked to provoke his students into becoming curious about his face. Well, that's what he said. Hinata just thought it was because he was on the run for some sort of murder he committed which would explain the young body and head of grey hair (dyed probably) and mask covering from his face from the nose down.

It was kind of like her and Solice in a way-with the whole identity change thing-except their appearance changed in the game, not real life.

Hinata stopped walking and looked to her watch. She ignored the people annoyed with her for stopping and began calculating. The banquet started in twenty minutes sharp. _Jacque's _was a 15 minute walk from here. All of her family members and friends would be at the banquet. She was supposed to walk home alone today. That meant she was free.

Hinata took off running with a small smirk on her lips.

Yes, Naruto would have chosen friends over games. And yes, she admired his loyalty and respected all of his decisions. In fact, she'd managed to adapt to his way of acting. His beliefs were her beliefs.

But just not this time. This time she was following her beliefs, her instinct. She chose… both.

Solice chuckled. "**_Nice to have you back."_**

* * *

><p>Sipping some of the non-alcoholic champagne offered, Naruto frowned.<p>

30 minutes. 30 minutes went by and the Solice guy wasn't there yet.

From all the faces seated around the tables, none of them were Solice. He'd know because the seat Solice was supposed to sit in was right beside him, in between him and Sasuke.

The name written in golden cursive, stitched into the white cushion of the fancy chair, rubbed him in the wrong way.

Sure he was always excited about new competition, but he always managed to beat the new competition and he was not one for losing. Ugh. Losing. That word was so detestable, so vile.

The grand, pure white ballroom engraved in golden patterns was put to use effectively. Five large rectangular tables were pushed together by their shorter sides, each dressed in fine white cloth and bathed in pounds of gourmet food. Approximately 99 gamers sat at their named seats, the men dressed in black and white tuxedos, the women dressed in white.

Everyone was matching. No one wore different colors except for the Gamemakers from the Namikaze, Uchiha and Hyuuga corporations. Their outfits had touches of red lace on it. The Gamemakers stood upon the stage, conversing amongst themselves as well as making serious expressions.

They were itching to find out Solice's identity too. He could tell.

Maybe Solice really was a mystery. No matter how good the person was, the stakes the banquet set were too high for the guy to actually pass it up. Solice had to be coming. Had to.

And Naruto _had_ to know who it was. Who it was that cancelled out Sasuke's genjutsu in one move, who it was that defeated the both of them so easily it was disgraceful.

He could tell Sasuke was anxious to find out who it was too.

The both of them had kept their eyes focused on the entrance to the ballroom ever since they sat down.

But what would they do when Solice's identity was revealed? He honestly didn't know. Maybe he'd challenge him or find some way to prove the guy was cheating or maybe he'd just become his new rival upon his already long list of rivals.

Naruto was not in the least nervous about his ranking. He was sure he'd pull up to a position higher than #15 at least. He wouldn't be amongst the 70 to get dropped.

Oh yeah. That was the new ruling the Gamemakers added. Those who didn't make the top 30 would have their game files erased anyway.

He definitely _wouldn't _be amongst the bottom 70. He was sure of it. He just had some competition for the top 10 spots.

First off was this Solice guy who beat him like it was nothing. Next were Itachi and his friends. Itachi was a mastermind. He definitely did not pride himself in the game nor did he invest countless numbers of hours into trying to get better at it like he and Sasuke did. Instead, as soon as he got hold of the controller, he became a pro.

That's what ticked Sasuke off about Itachi. He might've tried to hide it but as his best friend he could clearly see it. Sasuke was jealous.

Itachi's friends were weird as hell but skilled as fuck. And they were all at the banquet, seated next to each other, conversing, arguing and smacking each other.

Konan was the girl in their circle of friends. She had shoulder-length blue hair, amber eyes, and always wore ultramarine eye shadow and a labret piercing. She was calm and stoic but also evil and plotting then cheerful the next second. Naruto had his fair share of her personality when she stole his clothes after he showered and demanded $100 or else he'd be running around Sasuke's home _butt nekked_. Naruto shuddered.

Nagato was Konan's boyfriend. He had red hair and grey eyes. Nagato was Naruto's distant cousin and the opposite of him. He was sensitive and insecure but also could be cold and a smartass the next minute. He was the _perfect _match-up for Konan.

Then there was Zetsu. Zetsu had extremely pale skin and green hair. It reminded him of mucus -you know, the fancy word for boogers. Zetsu was a freak, a freak with a pint of crazy. He had split-personalities and sometimes talked to himself- albeit only in private. Naruto caught him in the act before. Other than that, Zetsu was also calm and collected.

Next was Hidan. He had slicked back grey hair and purple eyes. The dude was a total bitch. He was always cursing. Not one sentence had yet to leave his mouth without 'fuck' being mentioned. He was also impatient and disrespectful to everyone. But the guy was cool- to Naruto at least.

Kakuzu was dark skinned, had long brown hair and green eyes. The guy was a money freak. It was always money this, money that. He muggled kids without regret- Naruto, himself, had been a victim-, he tricked the elderly into giving him money and he was all about saving. He and Hidan would always argue.

Kisame was pale with dark blue hair and light blue eyes. He was one of Itachi's closest friends and was obsessed with fish. If you ate fish around him, he'd either get emotional or beat the crap out of you.

Sasori seemed normal at first. Bright red hair, good looks, brown eyes, calm personality and overall, collected. He had a passion for art. Sometimes Naruto would hear Deidara and Sasori arguing over it. But that's what made Sasori _odd. _When it came to art, he seemed to be more of a madman. He had a knack for puppetry. He'd design, sculpt and shape them, almost making them seem human-like. It was creepy. He treated them as if they were real. To Naruto it was real creeper material.

And then there's Deidara. Good ol' Deidara. Naruto had once thought Deidara was a girl since he looked like he could be Ino's twin brother but that disintegrated when Deidara nearly blew the shit out of him with DYNAMITE! The blond had a fetish for explosives. He said they were like pieces of art. To Naruto, it looked like Deidara needed serious help.

Tobi was the weirdest of Itachi's friends. He had short, spiky black hair and wore a swirled orange mask that a peep hole for his right eye. He was a grown man and wore a **_mask_**! But that wasn't the oddest part about him. He was bi-polar. He was always happy-go-lucky and goofy but if you pissed him off, and it was the dumbest things that pissed him off, he would turn serial killer on you and literally try to murder you.

Yeah. Itachi's friends were odd but they were just as good gamers as Itachi, and Naruto had yet to beat Itachi in a fight.

The others around Naruto didn't concern him too much since they either looked creepy like the weird guy with gelled pink hair (what guy had pink hair! Well, other than Sakura's dad… yeah…), emo like the guy with red hair and glasses or stupid like Konohamaru and his friends. He loved Konohamaru and the little brats but they weren't going to make it. They honestly sucked. The only people he could show some kind of concern for would have to be Hinata's friends. They were all exceptionally skilled at the game but he could tell he was better than them.

Hinata wasn't here. It was odd that her friends played and she didn't. Maybe she was like Sakura, Ino and Karin- not big fans of video games. But he was absolutely sure they'd reconsider if they found out that their precious Sasuke-kun was playing.

Sasuke had been his best friend since, well, forever. They were rivals and enemies at first but somehow they managed to become best friends only seconds later. He wasn't jealous of the guy or anything. He was just upset with the way Sasuke dealt with the natural attention he got. Naruto had to work hard to get people to start liking him, Sasuke held attention naturally but he didn't appreciate it or want it. What girls liked so much about Sasuke Naruto'd never understand. He was good-looking too. He might not have been as smart but he sure as hell wasn't going to treat those who liked him like dirt.

Distracting him from his thoughts, a security guard ran through the entrance of the ballroom and onto the stage.

"There's some girl out there, claiming that she's Solice, should we let her in?"

Before any one of his parents and Gamemakers could reply, the double doors to the ballroom busted open.

Immediately all attention had been cast in the newcomer's direction.

Naruto struggled to keep his mouth from hanging open.

At the doors stood Solice. Literally Solice. She was dressed in a tight-fitting body suit, wore a mask that covered every part of her face but her clear eyes, and had two swords sheathed behind her back along with two sharp knives placed within her belt holders. Solice rested her hand on her hip.

"I'm Solice, I'm here and I want my ranking. _Now_."


	5. Pride

**Ultimate Ninja Storm**

"_Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up._"  
>~Mahatma Gandhi<p>

**Chapter 5: Pride**

Hiashi never used to be fond of his eldest daughter. He usually openly preferred Neji and Hanabi over Hinata. But as of late, the preference scale went from imbalanced to balanced. How she managed to think of showing up to the banquet dressed as her game counterpart was really something. He had expected her to chicken out, not work her way around her predicament. He was impressed. Maybe his deliberate concealing of her identity was worth the hassle.

Hiashi sipped from his glass and stared at 'Solice' along with the rest of the room. Unlike him, the rest of the room didn't know Solice's true identity. That meant his fellow Gamemakers were livid with Solice's evasion from their plan.

Hiashi merely took another sip. How exactly would his daughter get herself out of this one?

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Great, they're staring. Now walk over to your seat so they can get a splendid view of our fabulous ass."<em>**

Hinata smiled smugly as she sashayed over to the dinner table, aware of the gaping reactions she was receiving from people. She quickly spotted her seat which was located in between Naruto's and Sasuke's seats.

As Hinata made her way down to her seat, she made sure to make eye contact with every seated gamer she passed by, remembering how, where and when she defeated each and every one of them. It fueled her with a confidence she never knew she had, an arrogance she never thought she'd experience, and a certain _fulfillment_ she never thought she'd lacked.

_"Is this what it feels like… to be you?"_

**_"Che… give a shy brat a little bit of confidence and she suddenly feels like she knows everything."_**

Hinata mentally rolled her eyes at Solice's sarcasm.

**_"And no. This isn't what it feels like to be me. This is but a mere… fraction of it. But if you're really that curious, stop doubting yourself and keep following me. I'll make you feel something you've never experienced before, something you've kept locked away ever since childhood."_**

This made Hinata even more intrigued. Had she always been hiding something like this from herself? If Solice knew how to get it, she would follow her. Maybe this alter-ego thing could be great after all.

Hinata took her seat agonizingly slowly. She could feel every little piece of Naruto's and Sasuke's intimidation and she loved all of it. She'd never had this kind of power before. Usually it was always people intimidating her. Now the roles were reversed. And she liked it this way.

**_"I know you're feeling really awesome and whatnot but right now we sorta have a big ol' problem to deal with like, I dunno, maybe it's the Gamemakers being pissed off."_**

Hinata had to forcibly stop herself from flinching when she felt the animosity being directed towards her from the stage.

**_"Keep calm and don't falter."_**

With newfound determination surging through her veins, Hinata shot the Gamemakers a heated glare that could rival the Sun's intensity. Kushina looked especially pissed off but Hinata kept her aura of malevolence standing and her glare blaring.

Before Kushina could unleash hell, Hiashi took the microphone and for a second, the entire table looked towards him. "Well, now that everyone's here," his gaze lingered on Hinata. "Let's begin, shall we?"

The room erupted into small and harsh whispers. Hiashi whispered something towards his fellow Gamemakers that made them seem to calm down. They proceeded to quietly argue something amongst themselves.

The entire table had taken to openly staring at Hinata while whispering about her to their comrades. The only people who didn't blatantly discuss Hinata's presence were Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi was directly before her, staring intently at her with a slight smile on his lips. Naruto was clenching his jaw and staring down at his food. Sasuke, however, took to brooding and staring at the wall.

**_"Weird, I thought they'd be more vocal."_**

Hinata didn't care. She was too high off everything going on with her body. She'd never felt so self-assured in her entire life. She was euphoric.

"Solice… It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hinata looked to the voice that called her. Itachi.

She was about to speak but Solice interrupted her.

**_"You can't speak like you regularly do, remember that. Itachi's smart. He'll match your voice with who you are and our cover will be blown. Try to sound more like me. Sort of like you did when you came in."_**

_"Alright."_

"Hello, Itachi." It felt weird addressing him with such familiarity. She was used to attaching the honorific to his name. "The pleasure isn't mutual."

**_"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmnnnnn!"_**

Hinata could hear Solice cackling at her snarky comment. Itachi recoiled somewhat at her rudeness but was back to being composed a second later. A small twitch tugged at the corner off Hinata's lips. This was fun.

"It's nice that you know my name," Itachi said smoothly, ignoring her previous rudeness. "…considering we've never crossed paths before now-virtual wise of course. It's as if you know me."

Hinata knew exactly what he was hinting at but she refused to buy into it. "How could I not? You're very known throughout the virtual world… I wish I'd encountered you before we met. That way I could have defeated you beforehand and reap the satisfaction of your intimidation… like nearly everyone else."

She could feel Naruto and Sasuke flinch, knowing they fell into the intimidated category. She realized the entire table had become entrapped in her and Itachi's conversation. Even a few of the Gamemakers were paying attention.

Itachi continued to smile and simply nodded. "You have pretty eyes," he noted. "They look familiar."

Hinata forced herself to not stiffen.

**_"Shit"._**

"Really? Were you looking to invest in clear contacts as well? Jacque's sells them at quite a cheap price." Hinata nearly sighed with relief. She was able to make her story somewhat truthful considering the fact that she did wear contacts.

Itachi briefly frowned, knowing that she had countered all of his advances.

**_"I don't think he knows… He just has an idea."_**

_"Still… it's too close for comfort."_

**_"We just have to keep our guard up then. Itachi's smart. He'll figure us out if we make any sort of minor slip."_**

Hinata virtually nodded. This was going to be hard, especially now that she had Naruto and Sasuke breathing down her neck. That intimidated comment had really made them loathe her more.

Before Itachi could inquire any further, the tapping of a microphone turned all heads to the stage. "As Hiash stated, we will begin now," said Mikoto with a small smile on her lips.

Hitomi took Mikoto's place before the microphone. In her hand was a small box with some kind of lever on it. She grinned lovingly. "I hope you all enjoyed your meal!" she exclaimed. Her grin faded from loving to something more devilish. "To make this ranking process faster… we want to get rid of the unqualified 70 as quickly as possible."

Hinata felt the entire table stiffen.

"Now, take a good look at the players around you," said Hitomi. "Smile if you like! Greet if you must!"

Hinata was able to tell her mom had something far from pleasurable up her sleeve. The tone she used usually indicated restricted evil intentions.

"Now say goodbye."

The table was confused until Hitomi pulled the lever in her hands. Instantly, holes opened up in front of exactly 70 seats and the chairs of the 70 people they seated tilted forward, throwing their screaming occupants down into oblivion. The holes closed back up and the chairs moved back in place. The remaining 30 was scared shitless.

Tobi was in Deidara's arms wailing loud cries of 'Senpaiiiii! Senpaiiii!' Deidara was too bewildered to kick Tobi off. Many of the remaining 30 wore horrified looks on their faces as they eyed their own chairs suspiciously. Itachi was unnerved but managed to visibly conceal it. Sasuke was more irritated than horrified. Naruto was doing his best to not piss his pants.

Hinata remained calm.

**_"Your mom is batshit crazy…"_**

_"She's your mom too…"_

**_"Tch."_**

Hitomi laughed eerily. "Now that we've gotten rid of that issue, it's time to reveal your rankings!"

Fugaku took the microphone as Kushina leisurely gestured towards the large screen beside her.

"Number 30," Fugaku began. "Sarutobi Konohamaru!"

Everyone watched the called brunet appear on the screen with his face displayed next to his position. Konohamaru sighed sadly when he realized he had only been the cut off. Moegi and Udon, his friends, were probably right behind him.

**_"Not bad for a brat."_**

_"He is friends with Naruto, after all."_

The room began to tense up.

"Number 29," Fugaku continued. "Zetsu!"

Beside his number was a picture of his face, just as it had been for Konohamaru.

"Na, 29?" repeated Tobi. He looked to Zetsu. "Does this mean Tobi is stronger than his second senpai?"

The rest of Tobi's friends snickered while Zetsu began to plot how he would murder Tobi.

Fugaku continued to call out the ranks one by one until he reached the top 20. The list went as followed:

28. Hyuuga Hanabi

27. Akimichi Choji

26. Rock Lee

25. Sabaku no Kankuro

24. Aburame Shino

23. Sabaku no Temari

22. Minori

21. Inuzuka Kiba

Hanabi was furious but kept her cool. Choji was indifferent and continued to eat. Lee had been excited as usual. Shino was accepting. Kiba was flaming because Tenten ranked higher than him but was secretly rejoicing that he had beaten Shino. Temari and Kankuro took to conversing with themselves and their brother. Hinata had noticed them seated together and only conversing quietly amongst themselves as they usually did at school. The Minori person was the only odd one. He was blonde and had slicked back hair. He also wore sunglasses and a grotesque Hawaiian get up. Oddly enough, he sat beside two other men who dressed in a similar fashion except the other two had pink and red hair. Weird.

**_"You really aren't that sharp, are you? Obviously they're Sakura, Ino and Karin in poor disguises."_**

_"What?!"_

Hinata watched them closely and realized how the redhead's moustache was crooked. Hinata twitched in embarrassment but Sasuke caught her small movement. She quickly steadied herself.

_"Considering they're pros at makeup, you'd think their disguises would be better..."_

**_"I agree."_**

Hinata turned her stare away from the odd 3 and watched Fugaku hand the microphone to Minato. "Now it's time to announce the top 20!" he said enthusiastically. "Number 20…Sasori!"

Sasori nodded calmly.

"Number 19… Tenten!"

"Yes!" Tenten exclaimed as she watched her name and face appear beside her number. She quickly taunted Kiba and rubbed it in his face and then calmly regained her composure with a small smirk of triumph playing on her lips.

Minato continued to read out the list as follows:

18. Kakuzu

17. Hidan

16. Rin

15. Deidara

14. Nara Shikamaru

13. Neji

12. Kisame

11. Karui

Kakuzu, Hidan, Shikamaru, Neji, Kisame and Karui hada ll been accepting of their positions. Rin who was really Karin in disguise looked odd with her moustache still crooked but still accepted her position without complaint. The only one to make a scene was Deidara.

"NANI?" Deidara exclaimed. He grabbed Tobi and pointed at him. "I'm ranked below _this_ idiot! How?!"

"Konnichiwa!" Tobi greeted happily to the Gamemakers.

Minato laughed nervously and just continued to read.

**_"Ne… how is it that the masked guy hasn't been called yet though… He does look quite dumb."_**

_"I have no idea."_

**_"I don't like him. He's shady."_**

_"As shady as cosplaying your own character so that your identity doesn't get figured out?"_

**_"Tch. Whatever. You always just have to kill my fucking vibe."_**

Minato handed the microphone to Hiashi`. "It's time to announce the top 10," he said darkly.

The entire table tensed once again. It was time to see who number 1 was.

"Number 10… Hikari."

**_"Sakura looks weird with her hair like that."_**

Hinata silently agreed.

"Number 9… Omoi"

The said boy was currently trying to appease the jealous Karui.

"Just 2 spaces apart!" The redhead flared. "That should have been me!" she sobbed.

"Number 8… Konan"

Konan simply nodded in approval.

"Number 7… Sabaku no Gaara"

The redhead remained silent.

"Number 6… Nagato"

Nagato simply nodded.

"Number 5… Tobi"

"Yosh!" Tobi exclaimed. He quickly turned to Deidara. "Ne, sempai! Do not fear! Tobi will always go easy on you and protect you because Tobi will always protect the weak!"

Deidara promptly tackled Tobi to the ground and attempted strangling him. "Weak? You fucking bastard!"

"Sempai!" Tobi yelled. "This is no way to treat your superior!"

Deidara had evil glints in his eyes. He let Tobi go and sat back down. "I will finish you later," he murmured to himself. "With a bang!"

Annoyed, Hiashi went back to the list.

**_"This is it."_**

Hinata remained calm despite the strong tension around the four of them. Sasuke was tense as hell, Naruto was visibly sweating and Itachi idly watched the screen.

"Number 4… Uchiha…"

Sasuke was alert.

Itachi was calm.

Naruto felt relieved.

"Itachi."

Itachi simply nodded. Sasuke's eyes rose in surprise for a small while but then he began to smirk triumphantly. Somehow, he had managed to defeat Itachi.

**_"Well this is different from what I expected."_**

Hinata agreed. She always thought Itachi was better than both Naruto and Sasuke. Maybe she was wrong.

"Number 3… Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto was happy but somewhat dismayed. He had lost to Sasuke _and _Solice. He stared at the screen with determination in his eyes. He was going to surpass them no matter what.

"Number 2…"

Hinata felt her heart racing. She could tell Sasuke was anxious as well.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke frowned.

Hinata smirked triumphantly.

"And number 1 is Solice."

Unlike the others, an anonymous face appeared next to her number.

The entire table stared at her. She was #1. And unknown.

**_"How does it feel?"_**

Hinata smirked visibly through her mask.

_"Great."_

"Now that we have that settled," said Kushina. "We must propose a deal."

The entire table shifted their gaze from Hinata to Kushina.

"We will allow you all the option to form an alliance or remain solo."

Everyone began to murmur.

"An alliance will not only strengthen your characters, but also make it easier for your ranking to increase thanks to your new-found combined powers," Kushina explained. "Alliances will also unlock new specialties for your characters. I, personally, would definitely consider it. New specialties include new developed dojutsu, techniques and bijuus. But it's all up to you."

Hinata stiffened. She wanted to remain solo but if everyone teamed up, she would be at a disadvantage.

_"What do we do?"_

Hinata watched as Itachi and friends decided to team up and become what they called 'the Akatsuki'. Hanabi and Konohamru did the same, as did Shino, Choji, and Lee, Kiba, Tenten and Neji, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, and Karin, Sakura and Ino.

**_"We have to group up."_**

_"But with who? It might jeopardize our secret!"_

"Teme!" Naruto called, grinning devilishly. "Let's group up!"

Sasuke smirked, quickly catching on to Naruto's plan. "Sure. As long as Solice here joins our team."

Many of the table's occupants pretended to be busy with their own teams but they were actually waiting to see what Hinata's answer would be.

**_"No. No. No. No. A million times no. _****_I swear to Kami that I will smother you in your sleep and murder your firstborn if you dare say-!"_**

"Fine," Hinata answered.

Unknowingly, she just possibly signed Solice's death sentence.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well hey there haha... I've sort of been gone for like a year... I've been busy with school and all that jazz but most importantly writer's block since I lost my computer that had all my stories on it. I may not update for quite awhile. This school year is killing me. As for my other other stories, it really depends on how much I can remember, my writing inspiration and of course free time if I am to update. If I could just get my data off my hard drive you all would have so many chapters to read lol. Sorry :/ It's nice to be back. I hope you all liked the chapter :) And if you want to keep up with my progress, you can check my profile from time to time.


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